India vaccinates over 2 crore teenagers with first dose in less than a week

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday (January 8) said that over 2 crore teenagers have been successfully vaccinated with the first dose of vaccine against COVID-19 under India’s inoculation drive for the 15-18 age group.

"Great Going, my Young Friends. Over 2 crore youngsters between the 15-18 age group have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in less than a week of vaccination drive for children," Mandaviya tweeted.

COVID vaccination for kids

India began vaccination of children in the age group 15-18 on January 3, 2021, a crucial milestone in expanding immunity beyond adults.

According to official estimates, there are an estimated 10 crore children in the 15-18 age group eligible for the vaccination, out of which, over 2 crores have already received one dose in less than a week of launching the drive.

The Union Health Ministry has announced that only Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin will be the one that will be administered to eligible children in two doses 28 days apart.

Vaccination in the last 24 hours

More than 90 lakh (90,59,360) vaccine doses have been administered in the past 24 hours while the cumulative number in the country has exceeded 150.61 crores (150,61,92,903), according to provisional reports updated till 7 am.

According to health ministry officials, over 91% of the adult population of the country has received at least one dose of the vaccine while more than 66% have been vaccinated with both doses.

Meanwhile, India on Saturday reported over one lakh fresh COVID -19 cases while the country’s Omicron variant has crossed the 3 thousand mark.